1. Technical Field
This invention relates to vehicle covers and, more particularly, to an inflatable automotive hail blanket which may be inflated in a variety of ways to provide protection from weather for vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many vehicle covers are known for protecting vehicles from various potentially damaging conditions such as weather and road hazards. Examples of such car covers can be found by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,699,192; 4,294,483; 4,807,922; and 5,050,925. Each of these vehicle covers addresses problems of protecting certain specific areas of the vehicle such as windows, tires, etc., as well as problems relating to the efficiency of the cover itself. The vast majority of these covers, however, are not designed to be capable of being quickly installed should emergency situations arrive. Furthermore, to provide a high degree of protection to the vehicle body, the vehicle cover must be constructed of either of a heavy material to resist damage or of a thick material to resist impact to the car body. The use of heavy materials in constructing a vehicle cover results in a vechicle cover which provides protection, but which is bulky and difficult to install on a vehicle. Therefore, this type of vehicle cover is not suitable for providing the emergency covering of the vehicle body, especially if the vehicle operator is not exceptionally strong. The other alternative, then, is to provide a vehicle cover which has sufficient thickness to withstand the force of impacting foreign objects. This may be accomplished by inserting padding between the outer and inner surfaces of the vehicle cover, or by providing a system of air bladders which, when inflated, will provide sufficient thickness to protect against damage. An example of an inflatable vehicle cover is found in Farris, U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,483. However, Farris is not designed for use in an emergency situation as it is inflatable only through use of an air compressor, which is not commonly found in a vehicle. Therefore, there is a need for a inflatable vehicle cover which may be used in emergency situations.
Consequently, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved inflatable vehicle cover.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable vehicle cover which may provide protection from the force of impacting foreign objects.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable vehicle cover which may be inflated by connection to a vehicle tire.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable vehicle cover which may be quickly and easily installed on a vehicle for use in emergency situations.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable vehicle cover which is durable in construction and safe and efficient in use.